Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �1

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VOICE

ALSO INSIDE:

New Teachers at ISA Into the woods University Applications

The International School of Amsterdam’s Student Paper

Movie Column

High school forces change o n t o y o u i n m a n y different ways. You go from having classrooms all placed next to one another to rooms all over school. You go from being the oldest -the king- of middle school to the youngest of ‘high school’. You are categorised into your different years, the “newbies” as freshman. More homework, and less hand-holding. Adjusting into high school is different for everyone. Eve r yone h i t s some bumps, but we’ve got to remember that this is the start of something new. A journey of new excitement and a path we can take on with our friends filled with hope. Going into a new section of the ‘Upper School’ can be nerve racking. You may feel as though you are an ant and everyone around you are huge thumping elephants. You crawl around with the everyone else just like you avoiding any contact with higher members of the ‘family’. The thing that is important is that we are one community all caring for each other’s well being. High school is not only about work, there’s also additional things that we can have fun with. One of these new activities is our CAS and ‘services’.. It is important that we also remember that not only shall this be productive, but fun too! This is when we are able

to interact with higher grades, meet new people and begin a new journey. O n e o f t h e l a r g e s t differences is the homework. From having a busy day be watching Netflix for the first 4 hours, and then cramming to finish your homework before 9 to watch more Netflix, you cram till 11 and Netflix takes no part of the plan. It’s still the early stages of this school year, but our teachers assure we will soon fee l the burn of our homework overloading our feeble backs. Our teachers assure us hope remains, as long as we stay organised and spread out our work.The new academic challenges prove interesting as well. Receiving challenging work allows for less dilly-daddling and offers us the ability to learn more as we start to prepare for the outside world.

All in all, high school is an exciting and scary new place for us young middle schoolers to be and although the challenges we now face may seem unovercomable, I am confident that in the end it will all work out.

-By Sophia Lee

Adjusting to High school

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Editor’s NoteDear ISA,

We’re back, and from all the new faces I’ve been seeing in the hallways throughout the first month, it looks like ISA is continuing to grow and improve. To new members of our community, I hope that this school proves to be a welcoming home, where you will make friends, grow, and of course, learn. And if you’re an ISA “veteran” but haven’t gotten around to meeting all the new teachers yet, don’t worry: we’ve interviewed them for you in this edition of the Voice.

The new school year always brings challenges to ISA, from our youngest students in the Early Childhood Program who have just started school to our DP students who are close to completing it. There are also challenge trips, where each year goes on an excursion with the entire grade to get to know one another for the coming year. If you’ve missed out, we’ve got you covered: personal reports from 9th graders on the beginning of their journey through high school, from 12th graders on their university application process, and from students on many of the challenge trips.

Of course, a new year is also an opportunity; to try new things, meet new people, and leave your comfort zone. If you need inspiration, look no further: we had members of Habitat for Humanity, the Middle School Student Council, David Sheldrick Wildlife Fund, the school play and the JV soccer team write about their respective groups and why you should join. So don’t hesitate—in the words of Afrojack, “The coolest things in life are things that you have not done before.”

Finally, a new year means a whole new season of the VOICE, and this edition is a great one. Beyond the articles mentioned above, we have engaging accounts of school events like the Back to School Barbecue, and mainstays like the Tech and Movie columns. It’s also great to see so many new writers and editors in our team, adding viewpoints and perspectives to the pages of our paper.

Make some new friends, try out another club, and (most importantly) enjoy this edition of the VOICE.

Have a great year, Ari Economon Editor-in-Chief

Who We Are... VOICE is the International School of Amsterdam’s upper school student publication. We are grade 6-12 students who meet each week at lunch on Thursdays for publication planning and development – there is no journalism class that supports the project. We commit our time and energy to support our school, our community, and our own growth as thinkers and writers.We welcome your letters. We welcome your article contributions. We welcome corrections that you wish to alert us to. Send all communications to Ms. Sabine Henrichsen-Schrembs (shenrichsen@isa.nl), the project faculty advisor, Editor-in-Chief Ari Economon (areconomon@isa.nl), or drop a note into the VOICE “suggestion/question” box outside room 189.

VOICE Team: Ari Economon (editor-in-chief), Gabriele Cepparulo (layout-design), Moses Ochs, Rania Khan, Trinabh Banerjeree, Evie M. Portier, PB Balakrishnan, Robert Brighton, Roos Creyghton, Lisa Klaassen, Kelvin Choi, Sophia Lee, Tanner Mulay, Lindsay Budin, Kenneth MacRae, Aaron Lam, Lukas Joosten, Ana McCawley, Young Jae Kim, Anna Economon, Zosia Bulhak, Trinabh Banerjee, Miguel Pena, Andy Kim, Lehaan Dawood, Tom de Wolf, Filip Lindgren, Luc Huistra, Pranjal Ray.

Want to improve your writing? Report on ISA issues and events? Get your name in the paper? If, so join Voice! Meetings for 2015 are every Thursday at lunch, and we welcome any new applicants from grade 6-12. Remember, you can also send in specific articles to Ari Economon or Sabine Henrichsen-Schrembs.

VOICE is published on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, by MultiCopy of Amstelveen (www.multicopy.nl/Amstelveen).

We ask our community to join us in a “read and share” approach. Once you have read an issue of VOICE, if you do not wish to keep the edition, return it to the Voice display rack outside room 189 so others may read it. This is environmentally and fiscally responsible.

VOICE is available as a digital download (PDF) on upper school Final Site link.

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New Teachers at ISA This year, ISA is delighted to welcome 15 new teachers to the Upper School. With all these new faces around the school, it can sometimes be confusing knowing who is who. That’s why we decided to ask each of them a few interesting questions for you to get to know them a little better.

Jonathon Denny Nationality: British Last Posting: Bogota, Columbia Why ISA?: He feels that we are a fantastic school in a great city. He also believes that he can continue to learn and develop as a teacher here. Subject: English Language and Literature in grades 10 & 11 Favorite Dutch Food: Chicken Sate with curry (almost as good as his dad’s!) Favorite Color: Blue Described in 1 word: Inquisitive

Daniella Gates Nationality: American Last Posting: Rome, Italy Why ISA?: Worked here from 2010-2012 and cherishes the vibrant community and international spirit. She also loves the city of Amsterdam. Subject: English Language and Literature Grade 10, English B DP Favorite Dutch Food: Poffertjes Favorite Color: Green Described in 1 word: Eager

Vlad Gogelescu Nationality: Romanian Last Posting: Mombasa, Kenya Why ISA?: A great multicultural community Subject: Global Politics, Individuals and Societies, CAS Favorite Dutch Food: Croquettes Favorite Color: Yellow Described in 1 word: Tall

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Courtesy of flickr.com

Carla Mandacaru Nationality: Portuguese Last Posting: Portugal Why ISA?: Appreciates that our school implements all IB programs and her pedagogical principles are similar to ISA’s. She also loves the location. Subject: Upper School Mathematics Favorite Dutch Food: Poffertjes Favorite Color: Orange Described in 1 word: Curious

Scott Morgan Nationality: Canadian Last Posting: China Why ISA?: Great school and he’s always loved Amsterdam. Subject: Upper School Counsellor Favorite Dutch Food: Indonesian Rijstaffel Favorite Color: Orange Described in 1 word: Calm

Anna Karina Neeteson Nationality: Dutch and German, but considers herself European. Last Posting: Nice, France Why ISA?: Loves that our school has a great reputation that she can grow as an educator. Also keen to explore the Netherlands. Subject: EAL grades 10 and 12. Favorite Dutch Food: Cheese Favorite Color: Turquoise Described in 1 word: Curious

Geoff Richman Nationality: American Last Posting: Atlanta, USA Why ISA?: It has wonderful teaching and learning opportunities. Subject: Learning Support (SSD) Favorite Dutch Food: The treats which come with coffee at Bakker Out in Ouderkerk. Favorite Color: Purple or pink Described in 1 word: Convivial

Claire Purtell Nationality: Chicago, USA Last Posting: Indianapolis, USA Why ISA?: Believes our school is very supportive to both students and teachers and that she can continue to grow as an educator and an individual. Subject: Learning Support Grades 6-8, 7th grade homeroom Favorite Dutch Food: Cookies and Chocolates served with coffee Favorite Color: Sky Blue Described in 1 word: Warm

New Teachers at ISA

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Frieda Dietrich Nationality: Colorado, USA Last Posting: New Delhi, India Why ISA?: Impressed by the international backgrounds and the commitment of the staff to their students. Subject: Upper School Counselor, Grades 11 and 12 Favorite Dutch Food: Mosterdsoep Favorite Color: Mauve Described in 1 word: Spunky

Petro Berkhout Nationality: Dutch Last Posting: Bangkok, Thailand Why ISA?: The challenges, the opportunities and the atmosphere. Subject: Dutch in Grades 8, 9, 10 and 11 Favorite Dutch Food: Herring Fish Favorite Color: Sadly colorblind Described in 1 word: Upbeat

Kim Schult Nationality: American Last Posting: London, United Kingdom Why ISA?: A very good IB school with very welcoming teachers and students. Subject: Grades 9 and 10 science, and DP chemistry. Favorite Dutch Food: Kibbeling Favorite Color: Zaffre Described in 1 word: Compassionate

Rebecca Pugh Nationality: British Last Posting: London, United Kingdom Why ISA?: Amazing school, staff and facilities. Subject: MYP Drama Favorite Dutch food: Oliebollen on New Year’s Eve. Favorite Color: Purple Described in 1 word: Fun

Joanne Gogelescu Nationality: British Last Posting: Mombasa, Kenya Why ISA?: Attracted to ISA’s vision and mission, and feels that international understanding is important. Subject: IB geography, Grade 9 Individuals and Societies and Advisor Favorite Dutch food: Old Amsterdam Cheese Favorite Color: Green Described in 1 word: Motivated

We are very happy to be able to welcome so many new people to our school! The students will definitely find themselves in good hands this year, whether they are in Grade 9 or Grade 12! Have a great year everyone!

-By Anna Economon and Zosia Bulhak

New Teachers at ISA

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BREXIT - ExplainedThe Brexit Fallout, What is going on? On 23rd of June, 2016, British people were asked about the UK’s Membership in the EU. It was a simple choice: remain or leave. Britain chose the latter by 52% of the vote, and the world is currently uncertain about the country’s future.

First, for a little history. Britain joined the EEC (European Economic Community) in 1973. There was already a referendum about UK’s membership in 1975 and the vote was decisively in favour of remaining with 67% in foavor of remaning. In 1992, the EU was founded, and it become a political union in addition to an economic one. The United Kingdom have enjoyed fairly special treatment within the EU, as the UK has an opt-out to the Eurozone (Currency) and the Schengen Area (Open Borders).

The UKIP and David Cameron’s Gamble Euroscepticism in the UK has been growing in the past few decades. This is demonstrated by the rise of UK Independence Party, and their leader Nigel Farage. In 2014 The UKIP shockingly won the UK European Parliamentary Election, for the first time in a century dominated by the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. David Cameron, the former British prime minister promised before the lead up to the general election in 2015, to hold a referendum about UK’s Membership in the EU. This done due to his own party’s growing Euroscepticism (Hatred towards the EU). The aim of David Cameron was to keep his party happy, although he himself was in favor of remaining. The conservatives won the General Election,and David Cameron did keep his promise. The Stage was set for a referendum and the article below discusses a number of key topics relating to the referendum

Immigration and Border Control Immigration has been a highly controversial topic in the UK. Many people believe that the level of immigration is far too high. Being a member of the EU means that anybody from the EU is allowed to work and live in the UK. It used to be that Non-EU Immigration surpassed EU immigration, but it is currently a 50:50 split. Around 550,000 immigrants came to the UK with 13% of the UK estimated to be foreign-born.

Issues like xenophobia and recently, islamophobia has added to this as well. Although it is true that many Islamic countries are known for extreme misogyny, some leave voters went as far to generalize all Muslims in that way. One of the key rhetorics of the Vote Leave Party is that EU criminals could come to the UK without being stopped. And it would make the country safer if the UK were to change its immigration laws by leaving the European Union. This view, however, may be false, as the EU 2004’s Citizenship Directives states that free movement is not an “unqualified right”. That said, the Paris, Brussels, and Cologne attacks have convinced more people to support the leave decision.

Image courtesy of www.politico.eu

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Cost of Membership and Economic Factors EU Members are either Net Beneficiaries or Net Contributors. Net Beneficiaries receive more than they pay, and Net Contributors pay more than they receive. UK is the 2nd highest Net Contributor to the EU budget, but the question is about the exact price.

The Vote Leave campaign said that the EU pays £350 million a week, and claimed it would be better to spend it on National Health Service. However this is a heavily inflated figure, as UK receives a rebate of £75 million a week, also £115 million is actually spent on the UK. The figure is somewhere around £160 million a week, this is 1% of the money the UK government spends in a week.

On the other hand, the Vote Remain campaign said that remaining in the EU gives the UK significantly higher economic benefits claiming that EU membership have increased average UK salaries by £1,800. They also reiterated the importance of staying in the European Single Market as 44% of their exports and 48% of direct investments comes from the EU. Vote Leave responded that the current regulations makes it difficult for Britain to trade with non-EU countries, and suggested that the growth of third world countries would increase benefits if Britain alone made trade deals with those countries.

Sovereignty and EU Laws Vote Leave’s argument was that laws should be made in Britain, not in the EU and we should “Take Back Control.” They claimed that 62% of the laws come from the EU. On the other hand, the Vote Remain claimed that only 13% of the laws come from the EU. The truth is that both sides are being highly disingenuous. The13% only involves laws, minus the regulations and other EU rules. The 62% involves regulations and laws that doesn’t necessarily affect UK. The real truth is somewhere in between, as different kinds of laws and regulations have different levels of impact.

After Brexit Vote After all British and British commonwealth citizens voted, Vote Leave won by 52%and lots of people were shocked. Nigel Farage has claimed this to be Britain’s “Independence Day.” Generally, older people prefered to leave and younger people prefered to stay. In regional sense, it gets interesting as Scotland, Northern Island, and London voted to stay,while the rest of England and

Wales voted to leave. In an economic sense, the pound has fallen by over 10% hitting a 31 year low against a US Dollar. Economic uncertainty was and is still present from disinvestments in the UK by foreign companies. At the moment, the UK hasn’t even triggered Article 50 yet (The lengthy process for any country to leave the EU). The chances are that the EU wouldn’t want to give the UK a great deal as an example to other countries that might want to leave as well. David Cameron, who lost the gamble resigned and was replaced by Theresa May, who also opted to stay in the EU. Currently, it’s very difficult to predict what would exactly happen in future, but one thing for sure is that major changes will be unlikely as the leaving process is extremely slow.

ISA’s Position Many British teachers in the ISA, such as Mr. Herbert and Mr. Griffiths, are disgusted by the Brexit decision. The general consensus around the school is that Brexit is ludicrous. -By Young Jae Kim

BREXIT - Explained

Image courtesy of http://schoolreport.yeoutbox.com/

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I have realized that, to everyone’s surprise, trying to survive a Theory of Knowledge class on four hours of sleep and two cups of George’s diluted coffee is not the most stressful part of the two-year cycle of suffering that is the International Baccalaureate: it is university applications. (If you must know, typing this title already stressed me out.) As 17-year-olds, it is difficult to fathom deciding our own path. To not have our mother or father boss us around telling us what to do is a terrifying amount of freedom that makes us question our competence. The amount of choices that are provided for us in location, subject, time… It almost seems too much for a group of adolescents that do not know what their blood type is, have no clue what a mortgage entails and do not know how to spell Baccalaureate to decide. Seventeen is meant to be the best age: people say we are treated as adults but do not have the responsibilities of one, and that is an ideal state to live in. And maybe the grass is always greener on the other side, and maybe I am just dramatic, but the year of seventeen, filled with finals, predicted grades, trying to find a way to survive CAS and having your summer consist of not much more than Jane Austen and her odd, practical ideals towards marriage, is a busy and deciding one. Last year we were not even allowed to decide whether we wanted to wear a hat in school or whether we wanted to expose our shoulders in our clothing and this year we are meant to decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives and where we want to do it.

Now that I have fed you all my worries and concerns, I will note the cheesy (but necessary) reasons why everything will be okay.

The state of the world will change. The state of our minds will change. Options will rise up and our visions will broaden. Putin might push that stupid button that decides to set everything on fire; evolution might turn out to be a sham; the clouds might be painted pink instead of blue; we will realize that we actually do not want a Literature degree (because what am I going to do with a Literature degree) or a Law degree or a degree in Medicine; we

might realize we want to study Art History, or Anthropology, and that is all allowed. We are allowed to start in Holland then decide we are tired of the rain and move to Dubai, and then realize we hate the sun a lot more and then move back. You might decide, “I like elephants more than any course right now”, and that is okay and you can spend a year doing that. Or spend forever doing that. You can decide. Matt Lynch can’t and your parents can’t. You have to, but you can as well.

Responsibility is horrifying but not having the freedom to make your own decisions is worse. -By Roos Creyghton

Ode to the oh-so-dreaded University Applications

Image courtesy of www.cartoonstock.com

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Conservation at Cost

The line between poaching and hunting is a thin one, blurred with the trademark obscurity of western laws imposed on developing nations. This line is drawn by governments in pursuit of justice to those who slaughter species in wilderness reserves for blood-sport or trade. Those like the eldest son of Donald Trump who stands, knife in hand, as he proudly holds the dispatched tail of an elephant in 2015. Those for whom the thrill of slaughter takes on an almost perverse perfection; a hunger for ivory worth more than gold. On the flank of this border are ‘others’, so-named because they are so inconceivably different, native - the ‘originals’, silent as they stalk their prey in feathered grass, emulating the very prey themselves. Bushmen. Somewhere in the distant African wilderness they live like figments of an ancient story, kept alive by the odd sighting in a geography classroom, or a remote subject of a documentary. Bushmen, natively known as San: the tribes who are paying the price of conservation laws made in an effort to stop poaching in Africa’s national parks.

John Vidal of the Guardian recently reported on one such incident. Nine young San had been hunting for antelope in the Central Kalahari game park, Botswana, a hunting ground as age-old as the tribe themselves, when they were greeted by a chopper, stripped, beaten and subsequently arrested, only to be detained on the grounds of ‘poaching in a nature reserve’. The central conflict of interest in conservation policy is found in the absence of a distinction made between poachers, who hunt for sport or illegal trafficking, and bushmen, who hunt in order to feed their family. The San people were the first inhabitants of Botswana, their history has been forged on the very grounds where they are now beaten until barely human. Salutations from the second millennium: generations to come will recall the exploitation of the world’s most vulnerable species.

The western world thrives on systems, order and decree. Our constitution is built on a fundamental foundation of democracy, our society is largely made up of a middle-class, we grow up with a basic bucket list that follows a somewhat-challenging job, a comfortable house, 2.5 children and a golden retriever (if the kids aren’t allergic). With this ‘ideal’ cradled in the back of our minds, western governments make laws to which developing nations must blindly abide by. Governments are exploiting conservation policies; it is, above all, a business, and profits must be made, even for a cause as crucial as conservation. There can be no doubt that a large majority of this money has in fact done good; global organisations like WFF and Green Peace have made tremendous efforts to reconcile anthropogenic damage to the wilderness. In recent years, however, conservation has taken on an an economic priority, governments are exploiting the do-good, feel-good concept

that has become synonymous with raising funds for conservation; they are generating as much capital as possible, and indigenous tribes like the San are paying a high price for it. The large majority of the world’s 100,000 protected areas and 6,000 national parks have been founded through systematically evicting indigenous communities. It is irony in a policy: the human toll is rising as the wildlife toll is falling.

It is of vital importance that the global attitude towards conservation changes. The current mind-set of protecting wildlife is one divorced from human interaction. Imbedded in the policies that threaten the most exposed members of humankind is a deep disparity wedged between animals and humans, with a line drawn separating good from bad. Faced with statistics of the world’s disappearing wilderness on a daily basis, post-industrially revolutionised society is liable with blood on our hands. Rather than shifting the blame on our ever-weighted shoulders and becoming fixated with man-made destruction, a relationship must be formed between man and wild. Let us follow in the footsteps of those who have lived in harmony with nature since the formation of man himself, the tribes that lived with the land before it was burnished from its beautiful, life-bearing chaos. These are the people whose stories we will yearn for as the last traces of true humanity disappears with them. These are the elders who carry the song of the land in their bellies. These are the humans who take only what is necessary; practitioners of an exchange between predator and prey that is ingrained in ecosystems, but is not exploited by mass-poaching sprees for the sake of depredation. If man and wild are to survive unanimously, the most fragile members of both species must be protected. -By Lisa Klassen

Image courtesy of www.pintererst.com

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Into the WoodsAs the school year is kicking off, and everyone’s getting back into the routine of work, a new musical is already in motion. This December, our high school will be performing Into the Woods, a musical that combines well known fairy tales Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. There have only been a few practices so far, but I can already tell the musical will be great, with the combination of excellent voices and outstanding acting. Albeit, it is early in the production of the musical, as someone who gets to see how it’s coming together from behind the scenes, it’s very interesting and well organized. Kelly, the play’s director, is doing an outstanding job overseeing the play; from getting everyone's voices to harmonize well together, to running through lines, to helping us understand where we have to be in each scene and be on beat with the music; the whole cast is improving rapidly every single rehearsal. I spoke to Zoe Harriford-McLaren, who plays Little

Red Riding Hood in the musical about how the play has been going so far, and she said “It’s very early now and I can tell it will be a lot of work, but it will also be a lot of fun and I’m so excited to work and meet new people in different grades whom I normally wouldn’t talk to. Plus it’s always fun with Kelly!” As well as the show being great, it’s songs are extremely catchy so don’t be surprised if you hear someone humming a tune from ‘Into the Woods’ in the hallways!

-By Lindsay Budin

On Friday the 16th of September the student council of middle school arranged a dance. The theme was Jungle, and it was very successful. 100 people attended the dance, a mix of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. I quote Alex Volovodov saying: ”I loved it”.

The dance began at 7:30pm, and ended at 9:00pm. The student council of middle school worked on setting up the dance from 3:30pm until when it started. The decorations included vines made of paper, and bamboo borrowed from the second grade area. It took place in the cafeteria annex room.

The dance had (like all of the other ones) a ticket stand, 3 euros at the door and 2 if you buy in advance. It also had a snacks stand, that sold crisps, and candy bars. There was also a drinks stand that sold sodas. Pizza was sold at about 8:00pm. They have made 200-300 euros just from tickets, and overall including the drinks and snacks the total came to over 600 euros.

The dance was discussed at the assembly that was on the 27th of September. The next one is set to be in early to mid December. The theme will be winter, and like always tickets will be sold in advance,and at the door if you intend to attend. There may an article about that upcoming dance in this magazine. -By Lehan Dawood

Middle School Back To School Dance

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The founder of Habitat for Humanity International, Millard Fuller once said, “Everyone—all of us, every last person on God’s earth—deserves decent shelter. It speaks to the most basic of human needs—our home—the soil from which all of us, every last person, either blossom or wither. We each have need of food, clothing, education, medical care, and companionship; but first, we must have a place to live and grow.” This was the quote that inspired me to join Habitat for Humanity when I saw it on the official Habitat for Humanity website. As a kid who has never worried about the basic needs for living, I have come to realize the significance of seeing lifestyles different from mine directly, with my own eyes, while lending a helping hand to the locals of Macedonia. All of us, the ten students who went on this trip, would agree that we are fortunate to have what we have after this experience.

When we arrived at the city of Veles, where we would be staying for the construction work, we were introduced to the local team leader, André, and the family whom we were helping. The building we were working on was a large apartment building that was amidst many other apartment buildings of the same style. The apartment complex had already been built, but a few final features were still waiting to be finished. We worked on filling holes in the wall, cleaning up corners, mixing cement, plastering the walls, making a pathway outside the building etc. Even though the temperature was high, everyone worked diligently on the site, hoping to make a difference for the family.

The Habitat trip consisted not only of construction, but also the whole experience of learning about Macedonia and its culture, and interacting with the locals. From the invitation for dinner from the family whom we were helping to the request of the local kids at the market to take pictures with us, we have developed an understanding of Macedonian culture directly. From the city of Veles to Stobi, then to Skopje, we have travelled around Macedonia, exploring destinations which we had never heard of before this trip. One of the best parts of the trip was the local Macedonian food which we were able to taste every evening at different restaurants. The trip was flexible in its ability to let us have fun while exploring the culture and its people, both through constructing with local workers and communicating with local citizens.

“You may think that you might not have done a lot over a week, but in truth, you have all worked very well, creating significant impacts on the family”, said André. To put it into the context of money, we have saved the family around two thousand to three thousand euros. In addition to the appreciation of the family and the local Habitat Team, we were invited by the Mayor of Veles to the municipal building. We also visited a family that was receiving the Habitat for Humanity Macedonia loan for renovating. From the beginning welcomings to the final appreciations from the locals, we realized that what we have done, and what Habitat for Humanity has done, had indeed created a long lasting impact on people’s lives. A final big thank you to all the teachers and team leaders who organized and led this trip and provided us with this wonderful opportunity! -By Nathalie Ye

ISA Habitat for Humanity Macedonia 2016: An Eye-Opening Experience

Image courtesy of Natalie Ye

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9th Grade Class TripThis year the 9th grade students took a trip to Klein Oever from the 7th to the 9th September. This year the location was changed from the previous years in the Belgian Ardennes, as it was decided that a lot of the trip used to be lost due to the travel time taking up most of the first and last day. Another reason was because of the accommodations, as this year's 9th grade is larger than before and accommodation there would be too small for us. When we first arrived, we were given some free time to run around and explore the place. There was a large open field with a trampoline, swings, hay bales, wagons, stables with horses, two dogs, and a pool. Shortly after we were shown our rooms. The boys slept in wagons and the girls had rooms in a separate building.

The first day was the first part of the Highland games, a collection of activities originating from Scotland. We were split into 12 clans, including Mcloud, Mclaren, McWallace and others. We participated in 7 activities on the first day. These activities included axe throwing, pitchfork throwing, wood sawing, kaber throw, tug of war, farmers walk and rock throwing. We don’t know why we were allowed to throw sharp objects, and who thought that was a good idea, but luckily it was fine and nobody got hurt. After lunch, we had some free time, which included either sports or going to the pool. After dinner we had the option of sports, cycling or horse riding.

Journalist’s note: Personally I chose horse riding and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had on a trip, I was given a majestic black mare and trotting was especially fun- M. Pena

The second to day we took a trip away from camp to visit a ropes course. There were also other activities including canoeing, blow darts, team building exercises and rock climbing. The whole day was spent there, after which we came back to camp for dinner and had lots of free time, which included swimming in the pool. That night we also had a campfire with songs and marshmallows and most people's favourite part of the trip, the disco. The disco took place in an underground “club-like” basement, with a disco ball, colored strobe lights and awesome music from our very own DJ Service (aka Mr. Daghigh).

Journalist’s note: The ropes course included a “leap of faith” where you could jump from a high point to try and catch a small pole. I have a fear of heights and this really helped my confidence. -K. MacRae

The final day rolled around and we played the second and final part of the Highland Games known as Apres Ski. There were 5 activities that time around which were: Bathtub racing, rock throwing, snowball catching, blind ski walking for 3, and whole group ski walking. After that, a traditional Dutch lunch of bread and hagelslag was had and we departed from Klein Oever pony camp back to school. The bus ride took about one and a half hours and we arrived back at ISA just in time to be let out on a beautiful Friday afternoon.

We asked 9th graders about their experiences during this trip:

“I did not really enjoy that much of the trip except for the dance night” - P. Olsen

“It was really nice and a good time to meet new people, and to catch up with old friends” - C. Salzberg

“Challenge trip was a place where we got to play crazy games and make new friends, as cheesy as it sounds it was an amazing entrance to the school year.” - S. Bayburtluoglu

“Really, really, really good.” - S. Lee

“It was alright” - F. Low

“It was fitting for the transition to high school with increased independence and responsibility.” -P. Ray -By Kenneth McRae

Courtesy of www.mobipicker.com

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �13

Unlike what it’s called, the Grade Challenge Trip is more like a ‘Grade Relaxing Trip’, where you can meet with your new friends while you talk, play, and cook together. The location of the trips you go are different for each grade, and the tenth graders went sailing on the North Sea.

On the first day of our journey, we started by going to the dock. The first thing we saw as we arrived at the dock was an antique boat that didn’t seem much bigger than the bus that had brought us there, and, everyone was surprised when it turned out to be our boat. When we got into the boat, we realized that it contained everything that is needed to live out in the sea. Even though it was a bit crampy, it was still charming and comfortable. The sailors on the ship were also kind to us. Our captain and the first officer of the ship were both very nice, and their dog, Storm, was really friendly and playful. After a short brief of the captain about the things that we should be careful on the boat, the crew released all the ropes, and we were finally on sail.

Living on a boat was very relaxing. Except for occasional adjustment of the ropes and the sail, we just sat on the roof of the boat, talking and playing card games with our homeroom friends. Sometimes, we just sat there silently, staring across the vast ocean where the blue sky meets the tip of the sea, and drifted in thought. Everything was relaxing except for cooking time. The crew was divided into 3 groups, and each of the groups were responsible for making a meal. At first, it was awkward and hard for us to make our own meal on a boat, but as soon as we got used to it, we actually had fun eating.

By late afternoon, our boat arrived at a small island and docked. We had some free time at the town before dinner, so we went to the local supermarket and bought supplies that were essential for the trip, such as chips and energy drinks. After we had dinner, we took a group photo, and had a great time with our friends, playing Truth or Dare, poker, etc. The time passed quickly, and soon we had to shower and snuggle up into our beds, which, I believe was the most challenging part through our entire trip. The size of the shower stall was extremely small. It was like taking a shower standing on a medium size chair. As we got into our bed, we all had to show some great patience and force ourselves to go to sleep while it was so hot. Sweating all over the tiny bed, we wished for the morning to come a bit faster tomorrow.

In the second day of our journey, the ship was once more released and freed shortly after the breakfast was done. We spent our time playing cards and consuming snacks that we had bought the day before, and within a few hours, we were docked again to a new island, and everyone just loved this island so much. Why? It was because it had a wonderful beach right next to the harbour! The North Sea was a bit too

cold and salty to swim and play, but it wasn’t much of a problem for us. We jumped on to each other, splashed some water to person next to you, and when we got too bored to play in the water, we just crawled back up to the beach and played football and frisbee.

As the sun started to set, teachers and captains from each of the ships gathered up, and made a huge campfire on the beach. Students came up to the fire and started to sing songs together, and that was really a scene that I would never forget through my entire life. As the night gradually became deeper, stars started to fill up the dark sky. Millions of stars shined its light down at us. The beach, the fire, the young singers and the stars, all of those things in a same place at a same time. It was splendid. Our second night of the trip passed like that.

The last day of the trip passed really quickly. That day, sailing back to the mainland was everything we did. We all expected the moment of arrival to come slower, but the wind was stronger than what we had hoped it to be. Actually, the wind and wave was so strong, that our boat was tilted for the entire time until we arrived at the harbour. When we reached the mainland, we took out all our luggages from the boat, said a simple goodbye to our sailors and the dog, waited for the bus, and returned home. Even though it has been a month already, we still miss them. Our journey was simple and relaxing, but it also gave us lots of wonderful memories that we will never forget. -By Jaehyun(Andy) Kim

10th grade Challenge Trip: Sailing on the Ship

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �14

Every year at ISA, the middle school and high school student bodies elect their student representatives for the next year. This year the middle school has a group of 13 dedicated individuals working to make the year at school as fun and productive as possible. At least that's their mission statement. Vice-President Leilani Hancock was elected on a platform that promised that she would be the “voice of the people”. She says that improving communication with the student body is her priority this year. The council organizes into committees with specific purposes at the beginning of every year; this year for the first time there is a Communications Committee. In assemblies, the council has made special mention of the new email address created specially for the middle school student council. They hope that these new initiatives will prompt students to engage more with the school community, share

ideas, and concerns and will enable them to address the issues that really matter to their constituents. On the other hand, Secretary Priyasha Ghosh and President Rania Khan have both expressed interest in approaching dances and spirit days with renewed vigour. In parts due to a busy school calendar, and an executive council comprised mostly of people new to student government, dances and especially spirit days fell by the wayside because of scheduling conflicts last year. The reps and executive alike are determined to improve this year. The first dance of the year, with a Jungle theme, was held on September 16th. With record turnout, and positive reviews, the team’s dedication seems to be paying off. The rest of the year definitely looks promising. -By Ranja Khan

Middle School Student Council 2k16

New year, New system, New Administrator

For many of us coming back to a new school year is always a little tricky: getting back into the rhythm of school , adapting to new teachers and, lastly and more formidably, getting ready to starting fulfilling the requirements of a new IB year. One of the more time consuming parts of the International Baccalaureate, some believe, is the Community and Service program. Service as action is the program that 9th to 10th grade follows and CAS is the program that is followed by 11th to 12th grade. It is a major part of completing each school year and it helps people to interact and give more back to community. Since the start of last year, the Service as Action program also underwent a major change, a change that has changed the attitude towards the service programs throughout the high school. In 9th and 10th grade, instead of students now having to do a certain number of hours, CAS requirements are made up of several different commitments to clubs and events throughout the year. I personally like both systems, the old system meant that everyone was always trying to give push us to really spend time at out clubs the most back This system was also implemented into CAS for 11th through 12th grade With the new year and the new system comes new CAS and Service coordinators, including Mrs Jennifer Gryzenhout and a new member of staff, Vlad Gogelescu. I decided to catch up with Mr Gogelescu, to see how he is adapting to ISA and what he thinks of the new CAS system.

I met with Mr Gogelescu on a early morning to ask what he thought of the changes to the Cas system, he told me that he thought it made the system much harder on students who attended clubs but who did not really participate, because signing off at the end of the year is now more regulated, and because you are required to come for a number of months, it forces people to find clubs that interest and motivate them. Mr Gogelescu also talked about how the system had made it much easier to try out different clubs during the school year. Being able to switch from a club if you begin to lose interest after 3 months or just wanting to try something new is now quite easy. The new system is here and for many of us will become a normal everyday part of a academic year, so in with the new and out with the old.

-By Tom de Wolf

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �15

Fair Trade Issues - Everything Explained

There has been a lot of negative rumours about Fair Trade recently, including allegations of theft and a takeover, and we wanted to get to the bottom of what was true and what wasn’t. To do so, we interviewed Olivia Jiménez, the 10th grade student in charge of the club’s finances, and asked her questions that needed answering.

Youngjae Kim: So what exactly has been the issue within Fair Trade? Olivia Jiménez: There are transparency rules within the school...when dealing with money, for example, we have to keep proper records of each sale. Those records must be absolutely transparent for the supervisors and the business office. But from the beginning of this year, Fair Trade wasn’t keeping proper records for the sales made each day. We weren’t recording how much money we were making, and although no specific problems occurred, we don’t have confidence that every is going fine. Who knows if someone stole anything, really?

Also, discipline has been a disaster. We didn’t have a “purpose statement” for our club, meaning we didn’t know what our goals were. This club apparently became an “Easy CAS Hours” club, therefore lots of people that joined didn’t care about our mission. We have to change this right now.

Finally, the reason our club has such a bad reputation is that our marketing campaigns have been poor, and we are clearly not sending out a message. This needs to change. We need to follow school rules such as not selling at George’s cafeteria.

Youngjae: Can you address some incorrect rumours about Fair Trade?

Olivia Jiménez: Incorrect rumours are that Fair Trade exploits labor, or that one of us stole money, or that I’m taking over the club. This is not true at all: - the problems we face have no connection with exploitation of workers (-at least to our knowledge), and no, none of us stole money and I’m not taking over.

Youngjae: So what are you exactly planning to do now?

Olivia Jiménez: Rebuild the club: We have already had meetings with Vlad Gogelescu and Paul Sanders, we will kick out members that are not willing to work hard for the club. Hopefully we can get going that way.

As we can see, some of the rumors were overblown, but others have some truth to them. Some things (like whether anyone actually stole money) may never even be resolved. We wish Fair Trade good luck in resolving their numerous issues, and will continue to follow the club as it recovers.

-By Youngjae Kim

Image courtesy of www.wikipedia.org

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �16

ISA Bears Soccer Season BeginsIt’s the start of a new school year, and that means football season! Another 4 months of thrills and anxiety leading up to the NECIS competition before winter break, which JV have won for the past three years.

The ISA boys kicked off their year with an away game against the International School of the Hague. Although the game was technically a friendly, both teams took it very seriously and both the Varsity and JV matches became overly physical very quickly. The matches were hard fought, and both ISA teams conceded first.

In the JV match, the keepers were kept busy as both defences looked shaky and unsure. Dane hit the bar with a free kick from 24m out, and Marc Andreu in the Bears’ JV defence almost scored an own goal with a miskick following a corner, necessitating a save from Brighton in the ISA goal. ISA ultimately went into the break level.

In the Varsity match ISH conceded a total of 28 fouls in 30 minutes, dirty play going without punishment. After the Bears went two behind, Sergi Sostres struck back to make it 2-1 and ISA levelled just before the whistle ending the first half.

At halftime, the scorelines looked like this:

ISH Varsity 2 - 2 ISA Varsity ISH JV 0 - 0 ISA JV

Unfortunately, the matches took a turn for the worse in the second half. Sam Freeman in the ISA Varsity goal was bombarded and ultimately beaten as the ISA defence fell apart, ISH maintaining possession in the Bears’ half. Whenever a breakaway came, a foul would bring play to a halt, negating any advantage ISA had in speed. Without Freeman in the goal, the goals for ISH could have easily entered double digits.

In the JV match, the Bears came out lacklustre, and conceded within the first five minutes - however, ISA quickly drew level, a new burst of energy coming with the potential of a loss. The hosts lost possession from the kickoff quickly and the ISA strikeforce fired home again to give an advantage to the away side. The ISH JV side fought valiantly, and Brighton made a total of four saves in the second half to keep out the hosts, going full stretch time and again to prevent a second concession. ISA’s JV side finished with the win, but not comfortably.

At the final whistle, these were the scores.

ISH Varsity 5 - 2 ISA Varsity

ISH JV 1 - 2 ISA JV These are the results of the weekend of the 24th of September’s games in Bonn against BIS (which I did not attend):

BIS Varsity A 4 - 0 ISA Varsity BIS JV B 1 - 10 ISA JV BIS Varsity B 0 - 2 ISA Varsity BIS JV A 1 - 2 ISA JV

These are the results of the games on the 27th of September against the American School of the Hague (which I did not attend)

ASH Varsity 2 - 5 ISA Varsity ASH JV 3 - 0 ISA JV

These are the results of the games in Paris on the 29th and 30th of September:

1st Leg ASP Varsity 5 - 6 ISA Varsity ASP JV 2 - 3 ISA JV 2nd Leg ISA Varsity 1 - 1 ASP Varsity (ISA wins 7 - 6 on Aggregate) ISA JV 3 - 2 ASP JV (ISA wins 6 - 4 on Aggregate)

BSA Varsity 0 - 0 ISA Varsity BSA JV 0 - 5 ISA JV

For the teamsheet geeks, these are the statistics for both ISA teams so far:

- By Robert Brighton

Team Played Won Drew Lost GD Points

Varsity 6 3 1 2 -2 10

JV 6 5 0 1 15 15

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �17

Movies Coming Soon:

Pete’s Dragon, October 5th: Pete’s Dragon stars Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford. In the film we follow the adventures of an orphaned boy named Elliot and his best friend Pete is a (the)dragon.

Hell or High Water, October 20th: Hell or High Water stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges. Two brothers resort to a desperate scheme to save their old family ranch in Texas. The film has been released in the US and has gotten critical acclaim.

Doctor Strange, October 27th: Doctor Strange is the next big Marvel Studios film that takes place in it’s Cinematic Universe. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikkelsen. A neurosurgeon with a destroyed career sets out to repair his hands only to find himself protecting the world from inter-dimensional threats.

Back To School Movies: Here are some great films that you should probably watch now that school has started up again.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a documentary and tells the story of Charlie, an introvert freshman is taken under the wing of two seniors who welcome him to the real world. It stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller. It is a great film that deserves to be watched, especially by someone who is beginning high school this year.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl tells the story of the senior year of Greg who spends most of his time being purposefully invisible at school and making parody’s (parodies) of classics with his friend Earl. His entire life is changed when his Mom forces him to hang out with a girl at school he barely knows, the problem is that she has cancer. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl is a truly brilliant film that needs to be seen by everyone. It is critically acclaimed and has won awards at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

Mean Girls is a classic when it comes to back to school movies and has probably been seen by most of for those who don’t know: Cady Heron is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George. -By Moses Ochs

Movie Column

Image courtesy of www.offerpop.com

Image courtesy of www.wikipedia.org

Image courtesy of www.rottentomatoes.com

Image courtesy of www.wikipedia.org

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �18

Samsung Note 7 Phone Exploding

Recently, major reports came in of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones exploding while charging. Almost immediately, Samsung began a recall for all Note 7s’ , asking users to contact the nearest Samsung store to trade their phone in. Over 2.5 million phones were recalled. US authorities warned airline passengers not to pack phones into their luggage. Airlines such as Emirates, Etihad, Singapore Airlines and Qantas also banned Note 7 phones from boarding their aircraft.

Samsung has claimed the problem to be a manufacturing fault with the battery, however, they had difficulty determining which phones were affected.

Fortunately, things have been looking good. Samsung says it has shipped 500,000 safe Note 7s’. They have also gone back on sale in the U.S.

Annual Apple Stuff

Apple hosted the WWDC event in June earlier this year where they announced iOS 10. Apple says that it is possibly the biggest iOS update ever. iOS 10 brought a host of new features to Apple devices. For example, rich notifications, increased implementation of 3D Touch, a revamped control center and messages.

During the WWDC event, Apple also announced it’s latest update to the mac operating system, macOS Sierra. The new update contains a host of new things, for instance the implementation of Siri, a universal clipboard that allows the copy and pasting of information between different Apple devices and even auto-unlock with the Apple Watch.

The new update also recognises when you are running short of storage space on your mac, and will prompt you to delete unused files or duplicates. it will even store rarely used files in the cloud automatically. I won’t spoil it all for you, so I’ll leave explaining macOS Sierra for now. Keep your eyes peeled for the update!

A p p l e S e p t e m b e r Keynote Event (the new gadgets)

Apple announced it’s latest new gadgets in September during its annual keynote event. The company did not disappoint and announced the heavily leaked iPhone 7 and iPhone 7+ along with Apple Watch Series 2 and the Air Pods. Below you’ll find descriptions of the new iPhone

line-up The iPhones are nothing too big to brag about (we are still awaiting for an alleged revamp of Apple’s next iPhone, the iPhone 8), although some noteable things did take place.

Firstly, Apple removed the headphones jack. Apple has removed it from the iPhone 7 and 7+, instead, consumers will have to go for wireless earphones or headphones like the AirPods. The decision was criticized by many, and praised by some, however, it was not unexpected. Rumors of the iPhone without a headphone jack were circulating more than a year ago. The removal of the headphone jack did allow one major change. A waterproof iPhone. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the new iPhones meets the IP67 rating, which means that it is dust, water, and splash resistant, but this does not mean that you should drop your phone down the toilet.

Secondly, the introduction of dual cameras on the back on the iPhone 7+. Camera enthusiasts will be pleased to hear the complicated language which will now commence (I’m joking). The first camera is the regular 12MP f/1.8, optically stabilized iPhone camera. The iPhone 7 has this camera as well, but the iPhone 7+ has another camera as well. Right next to our first camera there is the telephoto lense with maximum of 2x optical zoom. What this means is that the telephoto lens is kept at 2x zoom at all times, which means you can zoom in 2 times, with no reduction in picture quality. Apple claims that it can zoom up to 10 times digitally. A new feature made possible by dual cameras allows the “depth of field” effect, which allows the cameras to blur out the background, and focus on a subject. This ability will come out in a later update.

Other Technology: GoPro

GoPro… the company synonymous for action cameras has now released a new product line up: quadcopter drones GoPro calls it the Karma which is foldable; the blades are completely foldable, making it easy to fit Karma into your backpack. The sleek design makes the overall drone feel “cool” and more futuristic. A review by Engadget praised its design and user friendly control interface. In addition, the company also announced the GoPro Hero5 Black and GoPro Hero5 Session. Both cameras feature a 2-inch touchscreen, 12 megapixel cameras, and (previously rumoured and leaked) GPS. -By Trinabh Banerjee

Tech Column

Image courtesy of www.phonearena.com

Image Courtesy of www.androidcentral.com

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �19

Back to School Barbecue On the Sunday of the 18th of September, our beloved PTA organisation hosted its annual Back to School barbecue with an utterly collapsed line system by the ice cream truck and a terrific dance performance sparking an exuberant atmosphere resulting in a splendid attendance.

The highlight was dancing to the song “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” which was perfectly representative of the cheerful and happy atmosphere of the entire event. For the participants, this will become a memory for life, especially with half the audience recording with their own phones. Attendee Victoria Lindgren said “The dance group put in so much energy into this event and the result was amazing. Everybody danced with so much energy and enthusiasm.”

With a sign up of nearly 1500 people, the grade 12 student Bora Odaasi concluded the event being “crammed and lacking space”, as he and his friends had to dine outdoors on the grass. Thankfully,

the weathering gods granted the event beautiful weather, giving the small kids immense energy.

The climax of the event was reached after the dining when the coffee and ice cream truck opened. The notion of offering free ice cream to an event filled with families with small children was according to Adam Ramani “a rather courageous decision considering the chaos that was created with the really long line” and in order to tackle this issue he believes “the PTA should consider using more ice cream tubs so that more people can be served at the same time and so that you can take ice cream multiple times.” However in the end it was great, everyone had a good time and went home with a big smile on their face. -By Filip Lindgren

Image courtesy of Filip Lindgren

Voice Volume 8, Issue 1, Oct 2016 �20

ISA in Pictures